This latest work features characters seeking new beginnings, struggling to escape drugs or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", making it willfully cynical through recurring use. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the narrative. Meanwhile, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, as this presents as a new kind of book – observational, genuinely novelistic. But then it turns out to be filled with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book
The writer began as an creative who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting personal female narrative from self-debasement into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the power and directness that the letter form infused into the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a renegade artist who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It makes sense that she currently desires to try out new kinds of material, turning outward to other people's stories, at a moment when she asserts that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature obsolete.
Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their pasts. We encounter the story of Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a locality mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader attracted to honed writing of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors honed writing of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the initial part. It possesses a novel degree of detail that accommodates trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, aided by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". She tells Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not hers, exactly."
Frustration and Disruption
I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this fresh tone could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels returns in the second segment. Catt is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help her husband control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that powers a political win. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her listed profession modified from "author" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she states that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even see".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day passed by the murdered individual with the murderer and his companions. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what happened when Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, loitering fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who gains dimension partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
